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ditch

ditch v. especially in the phrase ditch in line, to unfairly take a place in front of others (in a line); to cut or butt (in line); to jump a queue. Editorial Note: Also infrequently given as dish. This term is particularly common in Ohio. Political commentator and Ohioan John Kasich frequently uses the term in the discussion of immigration. Doug Wilson has speculated that this form of ditch is a variant of dish defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “to ‘do for’, defeat completely, ruin; to cheat, circumvent,” which dates to at least as early as 1798. However, this and other theories are unproven. Thanks to Chris Waigl for bring this word to my attention and Steve Hartman Keiser for first mentioning it on the American Dialect Society email list. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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Further reading

Why Is a Tinker Named That?

Katie in Everett, Washington, is curious about the expression If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there’d be no need for tinkers. What is a tinker? She heard this phrase on the television series The Gilded Age, in response to a character who...

A Chapter of Ifs

Published in the mid-19th century, the poem “A Chapter of Ifs” elaborates at length on the phrase If ifs and ands were pots and pans. The gist is that one shouldn’t dwell upon things that may not come to pass. This is part of a...

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